A railway tanker owned by JSC “Ukrainian Railways,” which Russia “confiscated” in Ukraine, has once again been spotted in Lithuania. According to a post by the “Live. Community of Railwaymen of Belarus” (Live. Soobshchestbo Zheleznodoroznikov Belarusi) Telegram channel, the tank car in question was not allowed into Lithuania from Belarus on November 8 due to it bearing the Z symbol – the main symbol of public support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The cargo (fertilizers or fertilizer components), was sent by a Russian company to Lithuania via Belarus, said Lithuanian customs. Lithuanian customs officers said they would not allow the cargo with the symbol of Russian aggression to pass through and turned the tank car around.
After the incident, the symbol was painted over, and the tanker was resent to Lithuania, where it was allowed through, and on November 12 the cargo arrived at the railway border crossing point in Kena.
Screenshot depicting the 4th trip of a stolen Ukrainian tank car from Russia to Lithuania carrying “anhydrous liquefied ammonia."
The tanker, “confiscated” by Russia from Ukraine, had quietly passed through the Lithuanian border along the same route with similar cargo without any issues prior to the Z symbol being painted on its side.
From September to November 2022, a stolen Ukrainian tank car made 4 trips from Russia to Lithuania carrying “anhydrous liquefied ammonia” as cargo. Together with other groups of cars, the cistern was taken to Russia in March 2022 from the Sumy region. The Russians did not re-register the cars, didn’t change ownership, and didn’t assign new numbers to the railway tank cars.